*BA-DUM*  

The moment Alex says this, my heart beats so loudly that I could feel my entire body vibrate. Weirdly enough, the sound even resonates around my surrounding. Though a split second later, it goes back to normal as if nothing strange ever happened. Only the heavy feeling in my chest gets more intense.   

“What the fuck do you mean, motherfucker!? Whom have you abducted!?” I shout, my worst fear coming true.   

Layla and Rebecca jump up from my sudden outburst. Though hearing the word “abducted”, their expressions hardens immediately after.   

“Calm down, dickhead. I just asked if you want to talk to her. You can guess who is she,” Alex says with a chuckle.   

There is silence for a few seconds before he speaks again.   

“Here, the bastard is on the phone. Let him hear your voice,” Alex says, his voice now at a distance from the phone.   

The next moment, a terrified voice of a girl bursts out from the phone.  

Maya’s voice.   

“J-Jacob! Jacob! Don’t worry about me! I-I will be fine! Just don’t listen to him! He’s trying to make you come here and—”  

Her voice gets muffled. Someone must have blocked her mouth.   

“Maya!? Maya!? Let her speak, fucker!” I shout.   

Both Layla and Rebecca gasps at Maya’s name.   

“Tape that bitch’s mouth again,” Alex’s voice comes.   

“So, where were we? Yes, now that you’ve gotten the proof that I have this hoe, Maya, with me, I expect you to speak respectfully to me. Otherwise, I will beat up this cunt so brutally that her screams will reach you. Mind, not though the phone,” He says.   

…  

“Listen here, you cocksucker! If you hurt even a hair on Maya’s head, I will cut you up in a thousand pieces and feed you to the crows, understand!? I will kill you. I am not even kidding,” I say murderously, shaking in rage.   

“Sigh… you don’t really care about her, do you? I just told you to be respectful and you still have the nerve to threaten me? I guess I have no choice but to punch her beautiful face a few times. Black circle around eyes will look good on her,” he says.   

“HEY! YOU FUCKING—”  

“Don’t shout! I don’t want my ears to hurt. Fine, I will let this one slide. But I suggest that you just listen to me and keep your mouth shut if you cannot speak with respect. Because, you know, I would love to mess this bitch up— in every way possible,” he continues in a disgusting voice.   

This bastard! This motherfucking bastard! He’s enjoying this!   

“Now, let’s start with the most basic thing of any kidnapping: I will give you the instructions and you will follow them exactly,” Alex tells me.   

“So, as soon as this call ends, I want you to leave your house and come to…”   

He tells me an address.   

“Obviously, you have to come alone. Don’t even think about bringing someone else. Also, don’t be stupid enough to call the police. I won’t hesitate to strangle this whore if I catch even a glimpse of them anywhere nearby,” He warns.   

“Anyway, get ready, bastard. I am going to get back to you for everything you did to me.”  

With this, he ends the call.  

…   

“This fucking son of a bitch!” I curse loudly, standing up from the sofa and hastily pulling up my pants.   

“W-What happened, Jacob? Who was that? And why were you talking about Maya?” Layla asks, looking very scared.   

“A piece of shit has kidnapped Maya. Don’t worry, I have her location. I will quickly go there and save her,” I explain as fast as I could, somehow managing to keep my voice low.   

“WHAT!? H-How… Why in hell…?”   

Layla is so shocked that she covers her face, her hands shaking uncontrollably.   

“Wait, you cannot go there alone, Jacob! It’s really dangerous! We should call the Police immediately,” Rebecca says, grabbing my hand.   

She looks really worried as well, but still calmer than me and Layla.   

“He has threatened to hurt Maya if we contact the police,” I tell her.   

“But—”  

Rebecca opens her mouth to protest, but I raise my hand.   

“But I am not foolish enough to actually not do it. We will call the police, just not right now,” I continue.   

“What do you mean?” She asks with a frown.   

“To make sure that Maya gets out of this without any harm, I need to go there alone. I want the police to come only after they’ve lost their guard. So, I want you to wait for around twenty minutes after I am gone before calling them, understand?” I say seriously, telling her the address as well.   

“This is still very dangerous, Jacob! What if something happens to you!?” Rebecca says, growing more and more agitated.   

“I think you’re forgetting that I can do magic, Rebecca. I will be able to protect myself and Maya at least until the police arrive. Don’t worry,” I tell her.   

I can tell that Rebecca’s still not convinced but she gives me a small nod nevertheless. Not wasting another second, I quickly move out of the living room and start wearing my shoes again. Rebecca follows behind.   

“Take care of Layla, please. She’s in a worse state than it looks,” I request her.   

“I will,” She replies solemnly.   

With this, I leave the house and dash out into the streets. As I already know the location, I break into a run instead of calling a cab. It will be much faster (and less stressful) to just find a cab on my way rather than to just stand and wait for it.   

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*  

Suddenly, just a few strides later, my heart hammers inside my chest once again— the sound resonating. It only lasts for a second, but in that duration, my vision turns upside-down and I fall down hard on my knees.  

“Damn… What is happening to me?” I mutter, getting back on my feet while holding my head.   

Ignoring the growing heavy feeling, I start running again.   

Thankfully, in just a few minutes, I find an empty cab to hop inside. Even the driver seems to understand my urgency because the moment I tell him the address, he pushes down the accelerator hard, maintaining the speed near the speed-limit throughout the way— even exceeding it a few times.    

Reaching the destination, I thank him and hand over the fare (along with a generous tip) before getting out of the taxi.   

It is a posh area that screams “rich” even from a distance— you know, with big houses, wide streets, and palm trees along the sidewalk. This is such a big place that anyone can get lost here.   

But fortunately, it doesn’t take long for me to find the house I’m supposed to go to. The fact that one of Alex’s goons is standing right outside the gate helps tremendously.   

Seeing me coming towards him, the goon gets alert and starts looking around, checking if I have brought anyone else. Though once assured that I am all alone, a toothy grin spreads across his face.   

“Take me to Maya,” I growl, suppressing an urge to squash the face of this ugly fuck.   

Well, I need to make sure that Maya is safe before I do anything to anyone.   

“Hehehe… Sure, follow me,” he says with a laugh, turning around and opening the gate.  

I follow the ugly fuck through the paved path and enter the house along with him. Similar to outside, the house is quite luxurious and spacious from the inside as well. But well, I don’t spend time looking around.  

“To the basement. Everyone is there,” the goon says, looking sideways at me.   

“This is going to be so much fun,” he adds with a smirk, rubbing his hands in anticipation.   

Yeah, just let me get to Maya and you will see.  

Together, the goon and I climb down the stairs leading to the basement.   

“What the…?”   

The moment we enter the basement, a bizarre scene appears in front of me. 

Fire.   

The opposite end of the basement is completely covered in flames that are higher than my waist.   

“Hey! The bastard is here already! Great!”   

Suddenly, a familiar voice speaks up, grabbing my attention.   

Looking at the direction of this voice, I find Alex staring at me with a happy, half-crazed look on his face. He’s standing really close to the fire as if not scared of it at all. Four of his other goon-friends are here as well, sitting at a distance from him on a couch, looking at me with excited faces.   

…  

I guess the ventilation here must be really good.   

“Where’s Maya!? Where is she!?” I shout, coming to my sense again.   

“No greetings or anything? So rude,” he says, shaking his head in contempt.   

“Just fucking tell me, you cunt!” I bark.   

“Hahaha… Eager to see your cute lover, aren’t you? Well, she’s right here with us. Try looking through the flames, you will see her,” Alex says with a grin.   

…   

For a second, I thought he’s fucking with me. But then, fear fills my mind and I jerk my head towards the fire.  

Shit! Shit! Shit!   

It’s really hard to see, but I can barely make out the figure of someone behind the flames— no, there is more than one person there.   

“Want to see her clearly?” Alex asks. 

The next instant, as if reacting to Alex’s voice, the flames split apart and Maya’s face appears. She is literally drenched in sweat and looks barely conscious, but other than that, she seems fine. The flames are not hurting her at all.   

“She’s unhurt, see? Now, let me tell you the reason why I called you here today,” Alex continues.   

“I am sure you remember what you did to me the other day—”  

*THUD*  

Before Alex could finish the sentence, I fall down on the floor, clutching my chest.   

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*  

Like before, my heart starts hammering inside my ribcage again. But this time, it doesn’t stop after a second or two. It keeps on going. Before I realize it, even my ears start ringing loudly and my vision turns red.   

“Ughh!” I grunt out, feeling really sick.   

The next moment, pink light bursts out in front of my eyes, and letters appear.   

[Beast Awakening: Mode 2]